Have a fat purse? Luxury concierge will fulfil your wishlist in lockdown

It may be a while before commercial flights resume operations, but the rich can always avail the services of a luxury concierge to charter a flight — be it for a medical emergency or to unite family members with each other. If the mood takes them, they can even ask for an online cook-in with a celebrity chef. Or get a Bollywood star to deliver a birthday greeting.

At a time when much of the world is locked down to fight the coronavirus pandemic, luxury concierge services are catering to the needs and fancies of the well-heeled. As long as you are willing to pay, they are bending over backwards to fulfil your wish list.
 

London-based Quintessentially, a concierge company that operates out of Gurugram with a team comprising former executives of the Oberoi Group, IHCL and the Leela Group of Hotels, offers private charter services and more — at a price.
 

Rishabh Shekhar, director of operations at Quintessentially, says that though commercial flights are grounded, travel is allowed on two conditions.
 

“Individuals are getting permission from the ministry of civil aviation, along with embassy applications, if there is an urgent need for foreign travel, post which we organise private jets for the journey,” he says.
 

Air ambulances, too, can be organised in case of a medical emergency, provided the requisite doctor’s certificates and related paperwork are in order. “It can take anywhere between five and 12 days to get approvals for flying,”  says Shekhar.
 

Shipra Baranwal runs the India operations for London-based Ten Lifestyle Group that provides back-end concierge services for the top-tier credit card holders of large financial companies. She says that there was a surge in demand for private charter services just before the lockdown. “It was mainly for reuniting family members, many of them students, who were stuck in different countries or cities,” she says.
 

Before the pandemic struck and changed lifestyles across the world, customers would mostly ask these concierge firms to organise travel to exotic destinations, unique experiential events, and gifting services. “Honeymoons, personal reminders, valet services and customised travel programmes are what customers used to want,” Baranwal says.
 

In the post-Covid world, however, more exigent requirements are the order of the day. These include organising a private jet for a family including their dog, who wanted to travel back home, getting a full refund for a multi-room booking at a top luxury hotel in Malaysia (avoiding the 50 per cent penalty), and booking a fully-serviced villa on a golf course for a member and his family who wished to isolate themselves, Shekhar says.
 

Shekhar adds that right before the lockdown, “customers wanted masks in the thousands, and sanitizers and disinfectants”.
 

However, in the last week, the nature of the requests have become more lifestyle-oriented, with demands for virtual sessions with celebrity trainers and chefs riding high on their wish lists.

 

And if a family wants to surprise a birthday boy or girl with a video message from their favourite Bollywood actor or actress, that, too, can be arranged. A top Bollywood star typically charges anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh for sending a personalised birthday greeting.

Needless to say, signing up for a luxury concierge service isn’t cheap.

The annual charges are Rs 3 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, or Rs 25 lakhs, depending on the type of membership, plus additional expenses. 

The companies also have tie-ups with real estate firms such as DLF, the Lodha Group and the Embassy Group,  wherein premium customers receive memberships along with their real estate purchase. Like other concierge operators, Quintessentially is a global organisation with 1,500 employees and 60 offices in various international locations, which enable them to deliver on their often challenging requests.

American Express, Centurion Cards member services and US-based Ten Concierge Group are some of the other luxury concierge services that offer 360-degree, round-the-clock valet services to the uber rich.
 

Is there a point at which the firm will say no to a client’s request? “As long as it’s a legal and legitimate product or service, the answer will be yes,” Shekhar says. “It may be difficult, but that’s where we come in and make it easier.”